Ornithodoros brasiliensis
| Ornithodoros brasiliensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Ixodida |
| Family: | Argasidae |
| Genus: | Ornithodoros |
| Species: | O. brasiliensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ornithodoros brasiliensis Aragão, 1923
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ornithodoros brasiliensis is a species of tick in the family Argasidae, or soft-bodied ticks, that occurs exclusively in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.[1] O. brasiliensis is a known parasite of humans, dogs, and smaller mammals such as armadillos and skunks.[2]
Life cycle[edit]
O. brasiliensis hatches from an egg into its larval state. The larval stage does not need to feed, and molts to a nymphal stage after roughly a week. The nymph will seek to feed within two days of molting, noticeably faster than other ticks in the genus Ornithodoros. [3] The ticks will progress through a total of 4-7 nymphal stages, spending roughly 30 days in each stage, before developing into adults.
Effects on host[edit]
Tick toxicosis[edit]
O. brasiliensis, like many other ticks, causes tick toxicosis in its host at the location of the bite. Tick toxicosis includes all of the non-infectious complications following a tick bite, caused by compounds found in the tick's saliva. O. brasiliensis bites have been observed to vary widely in their intensity of symptoms on a case-by-case basis. The symptoms include: slow healing lesions, blistering, localized swelling, muscle and cell degradation, and pruritus.[4] Symptoms from these bites have been reported to last as long as 20 weeks after the occurrence of the bite.
Vector transmission[edit]
O. brasiliensis has been proven capable of carrying the microorganism Borrelia brasiliensis, a source of Lyme disease, in laboratory conditions, but no cases of vector transmission in the wild have been reported.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ Ramirez, Diego Garcia; Landulfo, Gabriel Alves; Onofrio, Valeria Castilho; Simons, Simone Michaela; Reck, José; Martins, João Ricardo; Labruna, Marcelo Bahia; Barros-Battesti, Darci Moraes (2016-07-01). "Laboratory life cycle of Ornithodoros brasiliensis (Acari: Argasidae): An endemic tick from southern Brazil". Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. 7 (5): 730–733. doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2016.03.001. ISSN 1877-959X. PMID 26972686.
- ^ Reck, José; Marks, Fernanda S.; Guimarães, Jorge A.; Termignoni, Carlos; Martins, João Ricardo (2013-02-01). "Epidemiology of Ornithodoros brasiliensis (mouro tick) in the southern Brazilian highlands and the description of human and animal retrospective cases of tick parasitism". Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. 4 (1): 101–109. doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2012.09.004. ISSN 1877-959X. PMID 23238249.
- ^ Davis, Gordon E. (1952). "Observations on the Biology of the Argasid Tick, Ornithodoros brasiliensis Aragão, 1923, with the Recovery of a Spirochete, Borrelia brasiliensis, n. sp". The Journal of Parasitology. 38 (5): 473–476. doi:10.2307/3273927. ISSN 0022-3395. JSTOR 3273927. PMID 12991141.
- ^ a b Dall’Agnol, Bruno; Schott, Diogo; Padilha, Thamiris; Antunes, Paola; Souza, Ugo A.; Webster, Anelise; Souza, Getúlio D.; Ferreira, Carlos Alexandre S.; Reck, José (2019-12-01). "Clinical Findings Associated with Ornithodoros brasiliensis Tick Parasitism in Travelers, Southern Brazil". Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. 30 (4): 437–440. doi:10.1016/j.wem.2019.06.012. hdl:10923/18028. ISSN 1080-6032. PMID 31685323.